After turning the corner between the Newman Library and Squires Student Center, College Avenue and downtown Blacksburg can be seen in an array of small, local businesses in the distance.
The tired-looking buildings that house these businesses each tell a different story.
It may be in the way its battered display signs hang across the storefront or in the revealing cracks in the window displays.
Looking from left to right, there is a rich sense of diversity in the kinds of stores that Blacksburg offers.
Forbes.com rated Blacksburg as the "No. 10 Best Small Place For Business and Careers," which shows that there is a chance for entrepreneurs who make their way here. But still the question remains: How exactly can someone start a small business in such a small region of 19.4-square-miles?
"Small shops have a uniqueness of experience that it provides," said Anju Seth, Pamplin professor of management and head of the department of management.
Well-established businesses such as Souvlaki have found a winning combination of experiences that they provide their customers, Seth said.
By serving Greek cuisine including pita wraps, tiropita and falafels, Souvlaki has been able to provide a certain demand for customers other business have not since it was founded in 1982.
Manager of Souvlaki Mike Buchanan started working at the restaurant during his undergraduate years at Virginia Tech. He believes that, because of his employees who are constantly at the storefront interacting with the customers, his business has succeeded.
He said knowing each customer by their food order makes each client feel welcome and seems to be a special ingredient to the restaurant.
Hooptie Ride, another established local business, has also been developing lasting relationships with residents and especially students.
Ken Jones, Hooptie Ride manager, bought this business a year ago from the original founder, David Robinson.
Robinson started the service as a school project because he felt a need to provide a clean, safe mode of transportation for the community.
He wanted to provide an alternative to drinking and driving, but also do it in style by driving around in customized automobiles with names like the Mystery Mobile and the Hokey Hustler.
Jones said they try to make it an enjoyable experience you can remember so that it is not just a "normal" ride home.
If a freshman started taking the Hooptie Ride and had a pleasant experience, then trust can be built over the next four years so that even as an alumni, he or she can come back for this service.
Having your own business is a taxing challenge as long hours must be put in each day. Jones, for example, works seven days a week for 60 to 80 hours.
"There is always something to do and you have to wear lots of different hats," Jones said.
However, there are the benefits to managing a business. Buchanan boasted that he has the freedom of being his own boss and making the decisions. He also said that having something to call your own is very rewarding.
Having a business in a college town also means that there is a bit of a turnover every year as businesses lose customers who have graduated from Tech, but they then have the chance to welcome new students.
Buchanan said that once they are able to pull in the new students, a relationship might be forged that can last through the next few years.